The threat to motorsport's future that won't go away

There is a potentially apocalyptic issue facing motorsport in Europe.

That statement is neither scaremongering nor an untruth - Vnuk (not a type of helicopter) is a serious issue. Never could I have thought that a man falling off a ladder in a Slovenian farmyard could shape the future of motorsport.

The EU's interpretation of a 2014 court case, Damijan Vnuk v Zavarovalnica Trigalev, could lead to a huge change in how insurance arrangements are structured. Vnuk (the person) was knocked off a ladder by a reversing tractor, and he sought reparations.

While presiding over this case the court decided that, for years, the Motor Insurance Directive had been misinterpreted and that, in fact, any motor vehicle should have third party insurance, even on private land. And that includes vehicles competing in motorsport. It also includes segways, ride-on lawnmowers and dodgems at a fairground...

Speaking of dodgems, cast your mind back to the British Grand Prix and the Kimi Raikkonen/Lewis Hamilton crash earlier this month. Post-Vnuk, that could result in Mercedes claiming damages against Ferrari for its role in the crash.

Just picture the consequences in everything from Formula 1 to the your local club race meeting. Claiming on insurance for every crash, every weekend. How much do you think insurance premiums would cost if that were the case?

'I've read about this before and wasn't it fixed?', you might be thinking at this point. Indeed, last year the Motor Sports Association - responsible for governing the sport in the UK - and industry professionals were encouraged to reply to an EU consultation into the proposed text of the Motor Insurance Directive (MID).

The MID outlines the rules EU member states must abide by when creating relevant laws in its own parliaments. It helps to create continuity in laws between EU countries for freedom of movement between each country with relative ease.

But when that revised MID was released last month, nowhere did it exclude motorsport, or insert the phrase "in traffic", which had been the preferred outcome from those within the motorsport community in relation to last year's consultation. Indeed, some countries in Europe refused to acknowledge it as an issue.

"We met with Jean Todt to reaffirm the UK's support for the situation, and see how each could help the other" MSA chairman David Richards

The campaigning last year was clearly insufficient given what's at stake. People thought Vnuk had been consigned to the memory hole, only for the new MID to prove them gravely mistaken.

The MSA is taking this extremely seriously. New chairman David Richards has already shown he detests unnecessary regulation, and if he decides something is worthy of his time, be sure that he and his team have thoroughly researched it, investigated the matter fully and painstakingly analysed every possible angle before engaging in a course of action.

That action was to bring together Jean Todt and UK transport secretary Chris Grayling for a meeting at the British Grand Prix.

"We had a very constructive discussion," Richards told Autosport. "Chris Grayling has been extremely supportive of our position on the insurance directive and Vnuk.

"The whole basis of the Vnuk argument is to protect the public from uninsured risks. The view that he takes, and that of the FIA, is that if an event takes place in the UK under the jurisdiction of the MSA, third parties are properly protected. Therefore it's not necessary to put another layer of legislation in there that complicates matters.

"We met with Jean Todt at the weekend to reaffirm the UK's support for the situation, and see how each could help the other."

Mutual support is what it's going to take to combat Vnuk; a unified front. One of the main reasons many people in Britain cite for not taking this issue seriously is that other countries aren't taking it seriously either. Countries such as Ireland and Germany have supported lobbying from the start, and others are joining the throng.

But a sloppy, disconnected effort isn't going to work. And countries further east - who don't have the same blame culture as more westernly countries - also need to realise that this could quickly destroy the sport if the wording of the MID isn't changed.

This needs to be a movement, spearheaded by the FIA and backed by the ASNs. A united front in the battle against Vnuk.

Richards is bullish about the issue, even calling out the FIA for not doing enough. Anyone in UK motorsport should know how big a deal it is for the MSA chairman to adopt that approach.

"There have been campaigns, but I don't think we've been communicating at the most senior level in European government to date," added Richards.

"To be quite blunt about it, I think until the latest directive came out earlier this year, the FIA were of the view that this [lack of change in the MID wording] was not going to happen and perhaps there was a bit of complacency about it.

"I think now they have realised this is an issue that needs to be addressed properly and with the full effort of the FIA. I think Jean understands it very well now and we're in a very different position."

"The modifications proposed by the European Commission unfortunately do not meet the FIA's expectations" FIA statement

The FIA now appears to be taking the matter extremely seriously. It issued a statement recently declaring a renewed vigor to combat Vnuk.

"The FIA and the European National Sporting Authorities (ASNs) welcome the long-awaited publication of the European Commission's proposal, which will lead to fruitful exchanges with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the coming months," it said.

"The modifications proposed by the European Commission unfortunately do not meet the FIA's expectations. Although the FIA and the entire motorsport community share the European Commission's objective to better protect the victims of motor vehicle accidents, this proposal could lead to motorsport events being dependent on the will of the insurance companies to cover them.

"The FIA and the motorsport stakeholders very much look forward to continuing the exchange with the European Institutions, in order to reach a solution that would still enable millions of drivers across Europe to continue practicing their passion, with the best possible protection."

How the stakeholders act in the coming months will be vital in combating this very real threat to the future of motorsport.

And if you're a British competitor, Brexit isn't an excuse either.

With an estimated out-of-the-EU date outrageously estimated at 2019, it could be much later by the time Britain is free from the powers that currently be in Brussels. The updated text for the Motorsport Insurance Directive is due to come into force in 2019 - before the UK Brexits - so it is likely to affect the UK, too.

All in all, on the face of it, it's simple. Change a few words. But actually forcing that through is tough.

Those who just assume this is going to be fixed and isn't anything to worry about are foolhardy. The latest text didn't release motorsport from Vnuk's grasp and it would have been easy to find a way to do just that. So why didn't it happen?